2007 picture of Ray Sparre

Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67



26 November
Passage: Zechariah 2
Focus: "After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me.” Zechariah 2:8-9.

Surely this ancient out-dated, hard-to-understand book called the Bible is not relevant for us today. Right? Wrong! That common misconception, in my limited view, is a tragic one, as it prompts many to party along their life courses and ironically celebrate their own destruction. That perspective contributes profound support to my Biblical worldview, but with mixed emotions. That is, I rejoice in my worship of God’s Majesty and grace toward me, but I shudder with agony over the destruction that His Majesty and grace requires toward others who reject His Majesty and grace. I reason that if I am basically wrong with this basic view, then this Bible I read is of no basic value for me—or anyone else.

Zechariah is inspired to use an idiom that is older than he is—“the apple of his eye.” Of course it speaks of someone very special, highly esteemed, and greatly loved. Having recently read an article by Jan Markell where she made use of that idiom, my attention was captured when I found it again here in chapter 2 of Zechariah—thus the FOCUS VERSE (it appears in a few other spots in Biblical text).

Just to set the record straight, let me call your attention again to the “Abrahamic Covenant”—the promise the LORD made to Abraham: “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you’” (Genesis 12:1-3). Doesn’t that kind of give us the idea that the Jewish people group—the nationality of Israel—is a very special people group in God’s view—who are special beloved objects of His attention, love, and protection? “Oh, but that was such a long time ago,” someone might argue, “and the Jewish people have messed up God’s plans so bad over time that surely this promise has become obsolete by now!” Think again. Read the rest of the book. Read your newspapers. Listen to the news. Is it not an amazing phenomenon that little Israel is front and center?—today?—2013? Fasten your seat belts, folks! I believe we’re all in for a wild ride. And much of what develops internationally will surround little Israel. There is really nothing any little humans can do to block the big God from making Israel and the Jewish people group “the apple of his eye.” And, to be sure, anti-Semitism from a Biblical perspective is a synonym for ANTI-CHRIST.

I’m doing things different today—attaching below the article I mentioned above by Jan Markell. Please read it. And make no mistake about it—understanding that the same God who established His covenant with Abraham also wants to establish one with you personally. His interest in you is not obsolete.

James captures the same simple challenge of guidance and hope in the New Testament—“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8). Bingo! Everything is allowed to work right with a HEART AFTER GOD. Rest assured—there is absolutely nothing in that response to make God angry. And please notice that this happy and peaceful relationship with the Father is not unconditional.




Cheering for Annihilation
by
Apologist Jan Markell

“Stein writes, "I really cannot believe what I am seeing in the news about the U.S. and Iran. In 2013, less than 70 years after the end of the Hitler regime in Europe that killed half of all of the Jews in the world, roughly half of the Jews in the world are threatened with annihilation again--and the U.S. administration is not only going along with it, but cheering on the possibility."

He further writes, "Hitler did not have nuclear weapons, thank God, and there was no tiny little country like Israel where 7 million of the race he hated with such a crazed vengeance lived. So he had to send police and militia and the Gestapo and the SS and local anti-Semites to round up the Jews.

"The Iranians in the recent past, have pledged to destroy the Jewish people in the Middle East. Some of their leaders have boasted that if Iran gets nuclear weapons, Iran will have 'a holocaust in an afternoon' by rocketing a few nuclear weapons into Israel. "Naturally, the Israelis are desperately worried.

"The problem is that Iran has made many promises about stopping the nuclear program. It has not kept any of them. It has not signed the non-proliferation treaty. It has not allowed inspectors in its most secret plants. It has raced on towards nuclear weapons that could, in a half hour or less, cause another holocaust.

"Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terror. Many of its top brass have expressed a wish to see an earth rid of Jews altogether. For Mr. Obama to trust these people--the same ones who killed 300 Marines in a terror attack in Beirut 30 years ago last month--to actually change their stripes and suddenly become trustworthy, is deeply naive or worse.

"It's death for Israel. It's another Holocaust and the world--except for France--is standing by saying, 'Go for it, Iran. We trust you.' There is something biblically horrifying about the whole situation.

"This is no time to reduce the sanctions. If Iran actually destroys its nuclear factories and labs, that's a better bet. But just for a promise of a freeze to stop the sanctions that can be reversed in hours? Stein closes by asking, "Have we learned absolutely nothing from Hitler? Will we have the most wicked stain possible on the human race again within one lifetime? Obviously, Mr. Obama is willing to take the chance--with the lives of seven million Jews. Maybe Congress will have more heart."

Who would have anticipated that America would one day cheer for the annihilation of Israel? But that's what is happening. And for that there are consequences. Horrific consequences.

Ken Blackwell writes a penetrating article in The Christian Post stating, "Now, the world is distracted and distressed. Financial meltdowns, ethnic conflicts, and a toxic popular culture combine to unfocus our gaze. Iran is proceeding -- boldly, defiantly -- toward nuclear weapons. The Obama administration clearly has no idea how to prevent this.

"Mr. Obama assures Israelis if they like their country they can keep it. But his word is not to be relied upon."

Blackwell continues, "Can it be that salvation--at least in this temporal sense--is once more to come from the Jews? Nothing can be clearer than that if the world must rely on Barack Obama to stop the Iranians, they will not be stopped."

Blackwell concludes, "For these reasons, we need to look to Jerusalem for our security. Once again, the peace of Jerusalem is linked to the fate of the world. This time, let us pray the leaders of the Jewish state do their duty without fear, without interference, and without deference to a muddled leadership in the White House."

Of course we look to God for our security, but Blackwell is double emphasizing the importance of Israel and our dependence on her rather than Israel's dependence on America. Our foolish leaders cannot see this. He that keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121). I don't think she is going to be annihilated! America may be, but not Israel.

America is currently in a LUKE SCENARIO LUKE 21: We have "distress with perplexity." We have dilemmas for which there are no solutions. There is no way out of the ObamaCare steel trap. No matter which way we turn in the maze, we run into a wall! How about 80 tornadoes close to Christmas? Is there a message to us in that nightmare? Perplexity.

Despite the fact that we have a more than trillion dollar deficit, an almost 17 trillion dollar debt, and roughly 100 trillion dollars in unfunded Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security liabilities, we seem incapable of slowing down our spending. Our country will be bankrupt in 5-15 years unless something is done. Perplexity.

The more government expands, the more freedom contracts and less vibrant and healthy our society becomes. This is producing an Orwellian country. Perplexity. The degenerate and dishonest behavior of our politicians, school shootings, abortion, trashy reality TV, drug use, gang activity, gay marriage and children being born out of wedlock, among many, many other issues, are eating away at the core of our once-solid values. Perplexity.

I believe some of this national decline is directly tied to our support or abuse of one of our best allies, Israel.

Always pay attention to the meaning of Genesis 23. There are blessings and cursings involved with the treatment of Israel.

It just never ever pays to stick your finger in the "apple of God's eye." No nation, denomination, church, political party, ministry, or individual, will get away with it forever. Behavior has consequences.